Resilient strip and metal carrier therefor

ABSTRACT

A resilient strip with a channel-shaped section that attaches to a flange on an automobile frame has improved metal carrier fixed to its channel-shaped section. The metal carrier has a continuous longitudinal web with sheet metal elements extending from either side that are triangular in shape. The triangular-shaped elements require only half the metal as the conventional rectangular elements, yet they have the same holding power for maintaining the resilient strip on the flange of the automobile body.

This invention relates to sealing and trim strips that are attachable tometal flanges. More particularly, the invention relates to achannel-shaped resilient strip of the type that fastens to a flange onthe door or window frame of an automobile and to a metal carrier memberthat forms a part of the strip and helps maintain the strip fastened tothe door flange.

There are basically two types of metal carriers for the resilient stripsthat are attached to flanges of automobile window and door frames. Oneis made of wir that is bent into loops so that it crosses back and forthfrom one side of the strip to the other, with fabric cords interlacedthrough the wire loops and running in the longitudinal direction of thestrip. U.S. Pat. No. 3,198,689 to F. J. Lansing shows an example of thiswire type of metal carrier. One disadvantage with this carrier is thatit is difficult to maintain secured to a flange that bends in and out ofdifferent planes, such as where the flange of a car door frame bulgesoutwardly with respect to the side of the car. When the loops of thewire carrier are displaced laterally at such bends in the flange, theytend to spring back into a straight line and come off the flange.Another disadvantage with the looped wire carrier with woven fabriccords is the complexity of the manufacturing operations that involvebending the wire loops uniformly and weaving fabric cords through theloops.

The other major type of metal carrier is made of a strip of sheet metalthat is slotted across its width to divide the carrier into a row ofsheet metal elements. These metal elements are usually joined toopposite sides of at least one central web and they are bent intochannel-shaped legs that grab against opposite sides of a flange on anautomobile frame. The metal carrier may be either completely embedded inthe resilient material, as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,222,769 to G. R.LePlae and 3,399,448 to N. C. Jackson or it may be fixed to the insideof the resilient material as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,108,338 to J. P.Stec et al. While this type of metal carrier is easier to manufactureand tends to stay on outwardly bulging door flanges better than the wirecarrier, it too has several disadvantages. One is that it uses moremetal to achieve the same holding power, and therefore weighs more.Also, the closely spaced elements of the strip can interfere with eachother when the strip is bent around a convex corner. If the elements arespaced further apart to save weight and material and to alleviate thebending problem at convex corners, then their overall gripping power isreduced and the resilient strip is prone to coming loose from theflange.

The present invention solves these problems by means of a metal carriermember having a continuous, longitudinally extending web and sheet metalelements extending from opposite sides of the web that are essentiallytriangular in shape. The elements are preferably spaced a distance apartat their distal end portions substantially equal to the widths of theelements at their junctures with the web. This creates triangular shapedgaps that allow space into which the distal ends of the elements canmove when the strip is bent at corners of a door or window opening.Also, a number of metal carrier members can be cut from the same sheet,with the triangular elements of one carrier blank nested in thetriangular gaps between the elements of adjacent carrier blanks. Thisreduces the amount of waste metal made in producing the carrier, andcuts the total amount of metal used almost in half, because the totalarea of the triangular elements is approximately half that ofrectangular elements, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,399,448.

At the same time, the holding power of the triangular elements issubstantially the same as rectangular elements having twice the area. Itis a well-known engineering principle that the bending moment at anygiven cross-section of a cantilever beam having a concentrated load atits distal end is directly proportional to the distance of the givencross-section from the distal end. Thus, the cross-sectional area of thebeam can be reduced uniformly from the supported end to the distal endwithout increasing the maximum bending stress taken by the beam. Ittherefore follows that the maximum bending stress in triangular elementswill be no greater than in rectangular elements, and the triangularelements will be able to maintain the same holding power as those ofrectangular shape.

It is important that the triangular elements be attached to a continuousweb and not connected simply to each other's end portions in such amanner that a zig-zag type of spring is created similar to that of thelooped wire carriers. The metal carrier shown in Canadian Patent No.730,900 and corresponding British Pat. No. 967,113, both granted toBright Manufacturing Company, has elements that are of a triangularshape, but each element is divided into two legs that are not attachedto any common web. In fact, there is no continuous web running thelength of the carrier, and the joining of the element legs at alternateends introduces a spring characteristic to the carrier that tends topull the carrier off flanges which curve in and out of different planes.In contrast, the continuous web of the carrier of the present inventionbecomes permanently deformed when mounted on a curved flange and assumesa permanent shape that matches the curved shape of the flange. Thisallows the triangular elements attached to the web to grab the flangewithout interference from inherent spring forces in the web tending topull the elements off the flange.

A metal strip of somewhat similar shape to the metal carrier of thepresent invention, but having a different function, is shown in U.S.Pat. No. 2,159,355 to H. Goetze. This metal strip is designed as aprotective armoring for the edge of a gasket and consists of acontinuous web with triangular elements extending from both sides of theweb and bent almost perpendicular to the web to form a channel-shapedstructure. The distal ends of the elements are bent inwardly toward eachother, so that they form teeth that become embedded in the gasketmaterial when the armoring strip is assembled on the gasket. Unlike thecarrier of the present invention, the armoring strip of this patent doesnot serve as a holding means for a resilient strip on a rigid structuralflange, and the triangular elements are not designed to create anygripping force on the gasket. Rather, they are held on by teeth that aresunk into the gasket material. Thus, these elements function in adifferent manner than those of the metal carrier member of the presentinvention.

In summary, the present invention resides in an improved elongated metalcarrier member for holding the legs of an elongated resilientchannel-shaped strip pressed against opposite sides of a rigid flange.The carrier member has a channel-shaped cross section with a continuouslongitudinally extending web and a plurality of sheet metal elementsextending laterally from both sides of the web and bent to form the legsof the channel-shaped cross section. The distal end portions of thesheel metal elements thus face in the same direction away from the web.The improvement in the carrier member is characterized by each of itssheet metal elements being relatively wide at the junctures of theelements with the web, and relatively narrow at their distal endportions. The side edges of the elements extend from the web andconverge toward each other at the distal end portions. In the preferredembodiment, the gaps between the sheet metal elements are least as largeas the areas of the elements themselves when the carrier member is in astraightened position with the web unflexed. More specifically, thepreferred shape of both the gaps and the elements is substantiallytriangular, with the distances between the distal ends of the elementsbeing substantially equal to the widths of the elements of the juncturesof the elements with the web. In addition, the sheet metal elementspreferably have holes spaced inwardly from their side edges to allowadjacent resilient strip material to partially fill the holes and forman interlock between the resilient material and the elements of thecarrier member.

The invention also resides in a resilient strip having a channel-shapedportion and metal carrier as described above fixed to the channel-shapedportion.

The foregoing features, advantages, and objects of the present inventionwill be more apparent from the following detailed description and theattached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a cut metal strip, or blank, from which metalcarrier embodying the present invention is to be formed;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a wide strip of sheet metal showing how severalof the blanks of FIG. 1 can be cut from the same metal strip;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of a reinforced resilient strip embodying thepresent invention, with a portion thereof broken away to show that theresilient strip includes a metal carrier formed from a blank like thoseshown in FIGS. 1 and 2, but with an alternate shape of holes punched inthe elements of the carrier; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the reinforced resilient strip ofFIG. 3, taken along line IV--IV of FIG. 3.

The metal carrier blank 2 in FIG. 1 is made of sheet metal, preferablysteel, and has a longitudinally extending web 4 and a plurality ofelements 6 extending laterally from both sides of the web 4. Each of theelements 6 have side edges 8 that are relatively far apart at thejuncture of the elements 6 with the web 4 and converge toward each otheras they extend away from the web 8. The side edges 8 meet at distal ends10 to give the elements 6 a triangular shape.

The elements 6 are preferably formed with holes 12 that are designed tobe filled at least partially by resilient material of a surroundingstrip structure. The holes 12 thus help interlock the carrier blank 2 tothe strip in which it is used.

The triangular shape of the elements 6 leaves gaps 14 between theelements that are also of triangular shape. In this preferredembodiment, the distal ends 8 of the elements 6 are spaced from eachother a distance equal to the widths of the elements 6 at theirjunctures with the web 4. With such spacing of the elements 6, aplurality of carrier blanks 2 can be cut from a single sheet 16, shownin FIG. 2, with the triangular elements 6a of one carrier blank 2anested in the gaps between the elements 6b and 6c of adjacent carrierblanks 2b and 2c.

With the carrier blanks 2a, 2b and 2c being cut with their respectiveelements 6a, 6b and 6c nested as shown in FIG. 2, one can see that theamount of metal used in making the blanks is reduced to almost half thatused in making a carrier blank with rectangular elements having the samelengths and same widths at the junctures of the elements with the web.The only factors that prevent the reduction of metal to exactly one-halfare the widths of the narrow webs 4a, 4b and 4c, and the metal wasted atthe edges of the sheet 16 in the form of triangular pieces 18. However,the pieces 18 will be less of a factor percentage-wise, if sheets widerthan the sheet 16 are used, accommodating larger members of parallelblanks 2 nested next to each other.

The metal carrier blanks 2 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are used asreinforcement for a resilient strip, such as the strip 20, shown inFIGS. 3 and 4. In the side elevation of FIG. 3, a portion of the rubbermaterial 22 is broken away to show the metal carrier 102 with triangularelements 106. As the cross-section of FIG. 4 shows, the carrier 102 isbent in a channel-shape to conform to the channel-shape of the resilientstrip. The carrier 102 is essentially the same shape as the carrierblanks 2 of FIGS. 1 and 2, except that the elements 106 are providedwith round holes 112, rather than triangular shaped holes. The holes 112help to hold the carrier 102 from lengthwise movement within the strip20, because the rubber of the strip 20 protrudes through the holes andlocks the carrier 102 to the rubber.

Another minor difference between the blanks 2 of FIGS. 1 and 2 and thecarrier 102 is that the elements 106 on one side of the carrier 102 areslightly longer than those on the other side. The elements 106 can bemade of different sizes to accomodate resilient strips of variousshapes, such as the strip 20 which has one leg 24 longer than its otherleg 26. In this case, the leg 24 also has molded to it an elongated bulb28 of sponge rubber. The channel shaped portion 30 of harder rubber,containing the reinforcing metal carrier 102 is designed to grasp theopposite sides of a metal flange F of an automobile door frame (shown inchain lines of FIG. 4), between the fingers 32 on legs 24 and 26, whilethe sponge rubber bulb 28 is designed to form a seal with the windowglass on the door of the automobile.

As can be seen in FIG. 4, the triangular elements 106 of the carrier 102play a key role in holding the strip 20 on the flange F of theautomobile door frame. As the fingers 32 and legs 24 are pushedoutwardly by the flange F, the metal elements 106 of the carrier 102exert a spring force back against the flange to hold the legs 24 and 26of the strip 20 gripped to the flange F. The total amount of springforce that can be generated is determined by the spring properties ofthe steel and the dimensions of the elements 106 where they join withthe web 108 of the carrier 102. Since this dimension is the same forboth rectangular and triangular shaped elements, the triangular shapedelements perform at well, while giving a saving of almost 50% in metaland weight of the carrier element. This results in a strip that is bothless expensive and lighter than previous conventional carriers employingrectangular elements.

While several embodiments of the present invention has been shown anddescribed, other embodiments and modifications will be apparent withoutdeparting from the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:
 1. An elongated metal carrier member for holding the legs of an elongated resilient channel-shaped strip pressed against opposite sides of a rigid flange, said carrier member having a channel-shaped cross section with a continuous, longitudinally extending web and a plurality of sheet metal elements extending laterally from both sides of said web and bent to form the legs of said channel-shaped cross-section, said sheet metal elements having distal end portions facing in the same direction away from said web, each of said sheet metal elements having the property of reacting to being outwardly displaced by said rigid flange by exerting a gripping spring force inwardly toward said rigid flange, said carrier member having the improvement characterized by:each of said sheet metal elements of said carrier member being relatively wide at the junctures of the elements with said web, and relatively narrow at said distal end portions, and having side edges that extend from said web and converge toward each other in the direction of said distal end portions.
 2. The metal carrier member according to claim 1 characterized further by said sheet metal elements being spaced from one another by gaps that have areas at least as large as the areas of said sheet metal elements when said carrier member is in a straightened position with said web unflexed.
 3. The metal carrier member according to claim 2 characterized further by said sheet metal elements and the gaps in between said elements being of a substantially triangular shape and size, with the distances between said distal ends of said elements being substantially equal to the widths of said elements at the junctures of the elements with said web.
 4. The metal carrier member according to claims 1, 2, or 3 characterized further by said sheet metal elements having holes spaced inwardly from said side edges.
 5. An elongated resilient strip having a channel-shaped portion and having a metal carrier member of channel-shaped cross-section fixed to said channel-shaped portion of the resilient strip, said metal carrier member having a continuous longitudinally extending web and sheet metal elements extending laterally from both sides of said web and bent to form the legs of said channel-shaped cross section, said sheet metal elements having distal end portions facing in the same direction away from said web, each of said sheet metal elements having the property of reacting to being outwardly displaced by said rigid flange by exerting a gripping spring force inwardly toward said rigid flange, said elastomeric strip having the improvement characterized by:each of said sheet metal elements of said carrier member being relatively wide at the junctures of the elements with said web, and relatively narrow of said distal end portions, and having side edges that extend from said web and converge toward each other in the direction of said distal end portions.
 6. The resilient strip according to claim 5 characterized further by said sheet metal elements having holes spaced inwardly from said side edges, and by the resilient material of said strip at least partially filling said holes to form an interlock between said resilient material and said elements of said carrier member. 